India’s notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for the assassination of former minister Baba Siddique, a member of the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP, on Sunday. Siddique, 66, was fatally shot outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Mumbai’s Bandra East the previous night.
Authorities believe three shooters were involved in the attack, with two suspects already in custody: Gurmail Baljit Singh, 23, from Haryana, and Dharamraj Kashyap, 19, from Uttar Pradesh.
Shortly after the killing, the Bishnoi gang took credit for the assassination via a social media post. Police are investigating the post, reportedly linked to a Facebook account managed by Shubuu Lonkar, believed to be Shubham Rameshwar Lonkar, an associate of the Bishnoi gang. Lonkar was previously arrested in Maharashtra for possession of illegal weapons and had ties to the Bishnoi network, admitting to contact with Anmol Bishnoi, Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother.
Further investigation revealed that the two arrested shooters, Dharamraj Kashyap and Shiv Kumar Gautam, both hail from Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, and had worked as laborers in Pune before being drawn into criminal activities. The police confirmed that the suspects had been monitoring Baba Siddique for months, conducting surveillance on his home and office.
According to the police, each shooter received an advance payment of INR 50,000 for the hit, with weapons provided just days before the assassination.
The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has a history of violent crimes, having also claimed responsibility for the high-profile killing of singer Sidhu Moosewala in 2022.
